08/20/2012

Using Hose-clips to Lock Out Bike Front Suspension

I have actually never ridden a bike with a suspension. I guess this is because I have never engaged in "serious" off road riding. But what if you have a bike with a suspension and you only ride on roads? Reader Eamonn came up with the following idea. I can only assume that bike mechanics will wince at this hack, but I will leave it up to them to offer comment.

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I am considering replacing the fork with a non-suspension unit but I'm finding it hard to find a proper suspension-corrected fork which will maintain the bike's geometry (this is very important) and fits 700c wheels (so the brake bosses are in the right position). In the meantime to see how the bike will feel with a regular fork I fitted a hoseclip to each stanchion to stop it from moving. This should give me a good idea how the bike will feel if I do replace the fork. Simple, cheap and effective.

The front of the bike feels much more solid with the hoseclips in place. It works so well that I'm wondering whether or not to bother replacing the fork at all (I'm not that bothered about the extra weight - I'm not serious enough a cyclist for it to make much difference!)

Comments

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I would put a piece of handlebar tape or a rubber shim on the stanchions underneath the hose clamps, much the same way we used to put something similar on the frame to protect the paint when mounting brackets/water bottle cages/Pletscher racks back in the day. That way you won't mar them should you decide to either go with suspension later, or try to sell the fork after you swap it out for a rigid fork.